Spirit Files : Book 1
by SpiritFiles
Summary: Trouble hits the Urameshi Team when a escaped prisoner from spirit jail comes into their lives. Lies and broken hearts. For better and for worse. This time on Yu Yu Hakusho!
1. Chapter 1

Something was going to happen… she could smell it. The air was thick with tension from the other prisoners. Bright yellow eyes shifted towards the iron bars that held her with in the enclave of the narrowed out hallways. Her dulled silver hair hung off her shoulder catching the faint breeze from the doors opening into the castle. Light from the torches outside the bars casted a dim glow into the enclosure, her eyes permanently adjusted to the darkness. Standing she moved to glance out into the hall waiting to hear a guard pass so the torches could be snuffed out for the evening. But there was no sound of movement except for the demons in the cells around her. They could all feel it. A smile crossed the young girls lips, the demon across from her raising a brow.  
"What are you smiling about." He growled from his bed.  
"Things are about to get fun around here…" she said with a small chuckle as the sound of a fight drifted down the halls.  
Soon two shadows could be seen further down the hall the torches being snuffed out. The demon across from the girl backed away from his door. She stepped closer gripping onto the bars her eyes dancing with excitement as the scent of a familiar body drew closer to her. "He's alive?" She whispered her eyes dancing with delight.

**~!~**

"It's not much farther." Kurama muttered to his companion as they slowed to a walk. The light of the torches casting shadows on the walls. Green eyes narrowed as they passed the cells, their target only five more rooms down. Hiei was close behind him glaring at the cells that they passed.  
"And we are here why?" Hiei said dully turning his gaze back towards the fox.  
"We are looking for someone." Kurama responded moving closer to one side of the hall.  
Hiei paused for a moment his glare now centered on the red haired teen. "Really?"  
"This is why I didn't tell you at the beginning." Kurama said coolly as he approached the cell where a silver haired girl was leaning against the bars.  
He locked eyes with the girl as she tilted her head to the side. "I see you are doing well." He said looking down at her face.  
"Could be better." The girl said smirking before reaching her arms through the bars wrapping them around Kurama's body. Kurama was slightly taken aback by the display of affection, a small smile playing across his lips as he rested his hand on the girls head.  
"As touching as this is… we need to keep moving before we end up in a cage as well." Hiei said annoyed as he stepped closer to the two his eyes narrowed at the girl.  
"Right." Kurama said as he stepped back out of reach of the girl inside the cage. "Kannia, stand away from the door."  
Hiei didn't wait for the girl to step back before slicing through the bars with his sword. The metal chimed against the stone floor, creating an opening for the young demon to walk through. "Let's get going." Hiei muttered turning to start walking back the way they came.  
Kurama smiled at his friend before starting to walk after him glancing over his shoulder to ensure that the girl was following them. Once she was out of the cell she was walking with Kurama towards the exit.

**~!~**

Hiei was walking in the front of the group his eyes shifting from one side of the hall to the other. _This is to easy… _ Hiei thought as he passed through an archway. His eyes shot up to the hall in front of him as an alarm started to sound. Kurama sighed. "I guess it couldn't be helped." He muttered before the three started to run down the hall towards the entrance of the prison. Kannia was keeping pace with the two, her ears flicking at the sound of guards behind them.

"We have company." She said with a bit of annoyance.  
"I guess we have no choice but to keep moving forward then." Kurama said with a smirk as he reached into his hair for his rose.  
"Naturally." Hiei said unsheathing his sword as guards tried to block the gate leading outside.  
"Rose Whip!" Kurama called as the rose pedals scattered the stem growing in length before a simple flick of his wrist sent the guards blocking the door to the ground. Hiei swung his blade taking down the remaining guards as well as destroying the door. Running through the opening the night air enveloped their senses creating an easier escape.  
Behind the small group the sound of shouting could be heard. Kurama looking back over his shoulder started to slow his pace. "Kannia same rules apply… Hiei I leave everything in your capable hands." He said with a coy smile before slowing down taking another path in which the guards would follow him rather than Hiei and Kannia.  
Hiei's eyes widened as he tried to look back at the fox demon. "What!" he called but saw the ancient thief had already vanished into the thickets of the forest. The sounds of the guards were drifting further and further behind as well, the lights of their torches a distant memory. It was a short run for Hiei to the lake where he and Kurama had met earlier that night. Anger slowly bubbled in the pit of Hiei's chest as he glared into the darkness willing the fox to show himself. The girl that the two of them had released from the prison was standing a few yards from himself. Soon his anger turned to pure annoyance. "What does he take me for… I'm not a babysitter." He growled turning his attention back to the darkness. _I swear… when I see him again… _ He thought before turning to start walking once more.

Hiei walked through the darkness, fully aware that the girl was still behind him. How long did she intend to follow him? He didn't look back or speak to the girl that was now his shadow, why talk to someone you didn't know. He didn't even know what this girl was to the fox, so he didn't dare kill her for continuing to stalk him. The faint glow of fireflies started to creep into his path, it was odd seeing fireflies this early in the warm months, but he continued walking ignoring the florescent fireflies as they flickered in and out of existence.

Walking in silence wasn't too bad… it was nice to hear herself think for once. But walking in silence without knowing where they were going was starting to get to her. The demon in front of her seemed to be a friend of Youko's, and he said 'same rules apply,' so she was obligated to follow the male. Looking up at the sky a smile played across her lips as she saw the stars for the first time in what seemed like forever. She glanced down to the real world and saw that the demon had picked up his walking pace causing her to run a short distance to catch up. She couldn't take the silence much longer. "So who are you?" she asked noting the slight change in the males stance.  
"That's not important." The male said annoyed.  
"I believe it is if I'm going to have to keep following you." She retorted her eyes starting to follow the dash of the fireflies as they started to gather around the two of them.  
"And who said you could tag along." The demon growled.  
"Youko said that I had to."  
"I was there as well girl… He didn't say anything of the sort."  
Kannia narrowed her eyes. "He said, 'same rules apply,' which means follow the lead runner and keep running even if they fall." She said holding out her hand for a few fireflies to land on the palm of her hand. The demon stopped turning his red eyes on her causing the girl to miss a step. She hadn't been expecting him to be that annoyed or angry with the situation of her following him.  
"Really, and what is stopping me from leaving you to rot in this forest." He said darkly as his eyes narrowed.  
"Nothing… I'd try to follow you for as long as I could, but there's no doubt that you are faster than me. So that leads the question as to why you are allowing me to follow you?" she said the glowing insects crawling around in her hand, she was trying to hold her ground against the male that was glaring intently at her, but the longer she stared at him the more she sensed his irritation.

Hiei glared at the girl, he wasn't going to humor her with the answer to her question. But as much as he wanted to run off and leave her in the woods he couldn't. Letting an irritated sigh out he turned on his heels and continued to walk through the woods. "I am an acquaintance of Kurama's, who I am is none of your concern. If you continue to talk I will leave you behind, I like my quite." He stated, the girl had started to follow him once he began walking once more. Wisely she stayed quiet for the duration of their walk.

**~!~**

"Hey Urameshi!" a voice called from across the small sitting area in the park. Yusuke looked up from the woman that was placing her order to see the shock of orange hair that was his friend Kuwabara.  
"Hold on ya big lug, I'm with a customer." Yusuke snapped as he finished writing down the total for one bowl of noodles. As his partner drew closer Yusuke was opening one of the few pots that were locked onto the noodle cart that he had bought to help bring in some extra income. He had worked for Keiko's parents for so many years that he felt confident enough to purchase his own noodle cart. He had been running it for a few months after returning from the demon world, and it was nice to say business was booming. After the woman paid, the black haired young man handed her the food and wished her a good day before flipping a sign on his cart saying he was closed for the time being.  
"Jeeze Kuwabara, I'm trying to make an honest living I can't have you scaring away my customers with your ugly mug." Yusuke laughed as he leaned on the edge of the cart.  
"Say that to my face Urameshi I dare ya." Kuwabara retorted.  
"I just did. What are you gonna do about it?" Yusuke said a smile splitting his face. He had missed hanging out with his friends, but missing so much school and not keeping his grades up. It had resulted in him being kicked out of school years ago. How Kurama and Kuwabara had done it he would never know, but they were graduating soon. So with finals coming up for both him and Kuwabara they had made it a habit of meeting once a week for lunch so they could study, in all honesty Yusuke didn't think Kurama needed it, but the fox was helping Kuwabara keep on top of the information.  
"That's it!" Kuwabara said as he got in a fighting stance. "Come on punk!"  
"I don't think that's why we have gathered here today, Kuwabara." Kurama said with a smile on his face, he was in his usual school uniform, in one hand was his school bag while his other was lazily hanging at his side.  
"Well the gang is all here." Yusuke said smiling as he quickly prepared a few bowls of noodles for the three of them.  
"Next time Urameshi."  
"Yea Yea, I'll meet you behind the middle school and we'll rumble like old times." Yusuke joked. As Kurama began to sit down Yusuke's eyes caught a imperfection along the side of Kurama's neck that had been hidden by his hair.  
"Hey Kurama, cut yourself shaving?" he asked with a smirk as he pointed at the small cut on his neck.  
Kurama's hand rose to the mark in confusion and only shrugged. "Must have been one of the plants in the garden," he said dismissively as he started to pull some books out of his bag.  
"Makes sense…" Kuwabara muttered as he started to dig for his notes.  
"Right…." Yusuke said narrowing his eyes not buying the line that Kurama had fed them. But he wouldn't press the matter, if it was important Kurama would have been straight forward with him. "So what do you guys want this time?"  
"I'll try the Miso this time Urameshi." Kuwabara said grinning.  
"I shall have the usual." Kurama said smiling as he looked up at Yusuke from the corner of his eye.  
"Comin' right up." Yusuke said smiling.

**~!~**

"Lord Koenma, it seems we have an issue."  
Koenma looked up from his current files to see the warden of the Spirit Jail entering his office. It wasn't often that he was graced with the presence of the warden, but when it did happen the news was never good. Even his ever faithful servant Jorge was confused to the warden's arrival.  
"What is it this time?" he said leaning back in his chair his arms crossing over his chest. After taking over the role of King of Spirit World he would stay in his teenager form while he was conducting business. Sure everyone in the Spirit World knew of his toddler form, but it had been during the dark tournament that he realized the usefulness of the older form.  
"A few days ago we had a prisoner break out of the E cell block." The warden explained stepping forward to lay a file on the desk for Koenma to look at. As the warden continued speaking Koenma started to read over the prisoner's file. "We don't understand how she escaped, but my men lost her near the cliffs. I feel we should make this a top priority. She is considered highly dan-"  
"That's not necessary." Koenma interrupted passing the file to Jorge. "The situation has already been dealt with and the new punishment has been handed down."  
Jorge and the warden stared at Koenma in shock. The warden could only smile as he bowed. "I see… It would seem I have underestimated you Lord Koenma.. I shall return to my post then, I apologize for interrupting." The warden said as he left his shoulders slumped a little as he passed through the doors.  
"Lord Koenma… what are you talking about, you haven't done anything." He said as he opened the file to look at who the prisoner was.  
"After looking at the information I know exactly where she is… so there is no need to worry. In all honesty, those idiots seemed to have done my job for me." Koenma said as he started to read over the files he had been in the middle of before he was interrupted.  
"Wait isn't this?!"  
"Yep…That's why the situation is already under control." Koenma said as he stamped the paper that he was reading letting it drift into the proper mailbox.

**~!~**

Yusuke sighed as he leaned back staring up at the ceiling of the dojo. His friends would be graduating from high school in two weeks and he was planning the graduation party with Genkai and Yukina. It had been decided three months ago that they were going to throw the party at Genkai's temple; it was where they could all be themselves without having to worry about prying human eyes. Yukina had volunteered to bake the cake for the party and Yusuke would cook dinner. Genkai was going to play chaperone only because she didn't want the kids getting drunk and destroying the temple with their rough housing.  
"Lighten up Grandma, it's not like we would go all out." Yusuke said smiling as he took a drink of his beer.  
"Cut the crap Yusuke, none of you boys hold back when it comes down to it." Genkai said after taking a drag of her cigarette. She was sitting on the ledge of the deck outside of the main room where Yusuke and Yukina were writing down the plans for the party.  
Yusuke narrowed his eyes, the old bat had a point, but that didn't mean she had to force herself to play chaperon.  
"Hello Genkai." The voice caused Yusuke to lean closer to the door to see who had entered the dojo. Smiling at Keiko the male got to his feet.  
"Hey Keiko, I thought you were studying for finals tonight." He said walking out to meet Keiko on the deck with Genkai.  
"I am… but I needed to talk to you first. Do you have a minute?" Keiko asked her hands folded behind her back. It was causing Yusuke to worry, whenever Keiko wanted to talk privately he was in trouble or something bad had happened.  
"Sure." Yusuke said quietly before he looked at Genkai who pointed towards the walking path not too far from the center of the garden.

Yusuke walked with his hands in his pockets, waiting for Keiko to say something, they had been walking for ten minutes now and she seemed fidgety. Yusuke raised a brow as she stopped abruptly; he had only taken a couple of strides ahead of her before turning to look at her. "What's wrong Keiko, you're being as twitchy as Kuwabara when Yukina is around." He said leaning all his weight onto one leg looking down at his oldest friend.  
"It's complicated." Keiko said after a few moments of silence. "But, I've been thinking about this for a while now."  
Yusuke's shoulders tensed a little bit, not enough for Keiko to notice. "Yea?"  
"I… I can't be what you want me to be." She said her voice shaking as she stared down at the ground.  
"What are you talking about, you're just fine the way you are, what is this all about?" Yusuke said taking a step closer to her, but what shocked him was the step back that she took before squaring her shoulders. It was the stance she always took with him to get her point across, whether it be about school, his fighting, his life; she wasn't going to back down. But the look on her face was different from the other times, it was sad.  
"That's not what I mean Yusuke. I can't give you the life you want." She stated.  
"Okay, now you've lost me. We've been doing perfectly fine for the last year an-"  
"I know, but don't you see. I'm only going to be a small piece of your life." She said a tear streaming down her life.  
"What?"  
"Yusuke, I'll die… Long before you." She whispered. Yusuke's mind went blank as he tried to process what she had just said. It wasn't long before he registered the sequence of words his eyes widening.  
"I'm just a human. I can give you happiness for only a brief moment in time, but you deserve so much more Yusuke." She started not allowing the male to get a word in edge wise. "I will always love you Yusuke, but you were dealt a short hand in the beginning. You've been stacking your deck over time and you've finally earned that royal flush you've been waiting for. So I want you to find happiness with someone you can love for as long as you live."  
By the time she had finished her speech she had tears running down her face. Yusuke stared at his best friend before walking over and embracing her. He understood why she was doing this, it hurt like hell, but he got it. Closing his eyes he warred with his mind and his heart. "I'm sorry Keiko… I never really thought about it, but it seems you've done all the thinking as usual." He stated hugging her tightly. "And you deserve the world tenfold for putting up with me for this long." He said resting his forehead on the top of her head.

**~!~**

Kurama let out a breath of air as he sat on the temple steps a beer in hand. Finals long over, the human ritual of Graduating from High School passed. A smile playing across his lips, he had graduated valedictorian of his year and had been accepted into the best college Japan had to offer. His human life was on track, if only his demon life could be as easy. Hiei had been told of the party long before their secret mission, and if he didn't make an appearance Yusuke and Kuwabara would go on the hunt for the fire apparition. He stared up at the clouds masking his anxiety of how his secrets would be laid out for the others to see.  
The fox had been so lost in thought that he didn't hear the spirit detective approaching him from behind until the cold metal of the other's beer pressed against his ear. Jumping slightly he turned to look at the black haired male.  
"Hey, school's over! Stop doing mental math and come join the party. Keiko and Kuwabara just showed up." He said with a ghost of a smile on his face.  
Kurama narrowed his eyes, his thoughts now torn from his own battle and onto Yusuke's. "Normally you're more chipper when Keiko comes around. Did something happen?" he said as he started to get to his feet making sure to retrieve his own beverage.  
"Just the usual." Yusuke said as he turned to walk down the deck to the main court yard where the party was taking place. Kurama fell in step with his friend, wanting to press the matter further for fear that it was causing Yusuke pain. But he recalled a few months ago when the detective had asked the same question of himself. Shaking his red hair he dropped the matter and smiled. "If you say so." He replied his shoulder brushing the others as they walked into the court yard.  
Looking at their friends he smiled seeing everyone who had been part of their human lives were there; Botan, Genkai, Keiko, Kuwabara, Shizuru, and Yukina. The only one missing was Hiei, and his shadow. Kurama turned to the main gate to see someone walking up the stairs and his eyes widened seeing Koenma appearing on the scene.  
"Lord Koenma?" Botan said with a bit of shock. "What are you doing here?"  
"Can't I come and see my team on a day of celebration?" Koenma said smiling as he looked towards Yusuke and Kurama. "Congratulations, it's an amazing feat that you all graduated, well most of you."  
"What did you say pacifier breath?" Yusuke said narrowing his eyes at his boss.  
"Oh nothing." Koenma laughed resting his hands on his hips.  
Kurama had not taken into consideration that Koenma would show up to the party, taking a drink from his beer he tried to devise a plan to inform Hiei not to come to the party. But as an idea started to root into his mind the familiar aura of the apparition entered the temple grounds.  
"It would seem the gang's all here." Yusuke said grinning.  
Genkai narrowed her eyes in the direction that the demon was coming from, Kurama knew Genkai could sense Kannia's aura as well, however faint it was.  
Hiei stepped out of the brush at the back of the garden, his eyes zeroing in on Kurama in a matter of milliseconds. As he started to walk towards Kurama his eyes narrowed to a glare he could see Koenma stepping forward to stand to the left of Genkai. It was at that point in time that the silver haired girl jumped over the bush following Hiei as he had instructed her to do four months ago. And it was that reason that the fire demon was angry with him now.  
"Hey pipsqueak, is that your new girlfriend?" Kuwabara teased only to get the meanest look from Hiei that the human had ever seen.  
Kurama was trying to play innocent but he knew that he had now been caught in a lie. Hiei was upon him and Kurama soon found the smaller demon fisting the front of his shirt dragging him down to be face to face with him.  
"Give me one good reason, as to why I shouldn't kill you right this second." Hiei growled.  
"Hey Hiei, calm down." Yusuke said putting himself between his two friends. "What is this about? And who is the girl?"  
"Ask Kurama, he's the reason she's following me." He snapped. Kannia was soon standing off to the side of Hiei and himself. Yusuke looked over the girl now that she was closer and then he turned to Kurama waiting for an answer.  
"Um, is it just me or does this girl look like a mini copy of Kurama's demon form?" Kuwabara said staring between Kurama and the girl. Caught in his nasty web of lies Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose.  
"Kurama…" Yusuke said trying to coax the fox into talking.  
"Allow me to fill you in boys." Koenma said causing Kurama to turn his head to face the Spirit Lord. "This girl is Youko Kurama's younger sister, Kannia. Who, Hiei and Kurama, broke out of Spirit Jail four months ago."  
"You did what!?" Yusuke snapped looking between Hiei and Kurama. Kurama could have sworn Hiei looked stunned by the news of who the girl was.  
"What he says is the truth." Kurama said unable to free himself from the situation. "She is my kid sister."  
"Why didn't you ever tell us you had a sister?"Kuwabara interjected.  
"In all honesty I didn't even know she was alive I was going off a hunch." He said earning a glare from Hiei.  
Koenma interrupted the team banter by clearing his throat. "Do you two know how much trouble you are in for breaking into Spirit Jail… let alone breaking a convict out of it." He said his voice serious.  
"I understand the consequences but she had been locked up for crimes committed by Youko, she had never partaken in any thefts." Kurama retorted.  
"That is correct but there is still a matter of holding someone responsible for the crimes at hand." Koenma said crossing his arms. "Which have already been decided." He said glumly.  
"Hey, you can't be seriously thinking about punishing them. They've saved the world countless times with me. Hell I wouldn't have survived my first mission if it weren't for them." Yusuke snapped.  
"The punishment is spread evenly amongst all of you, since you are a team after all."  
"What!? But I didn't do anything!" Kuwabara yelled.  
"You can't be serious!" Botan protested.  
"Team Urameshi, you are charged with aiding and abetting a wanted criminal. There for your punishment is playing the role of Parole officer." The Spirit lord said with a smirk on his face.  
Kurama stared at Koenma a stunned look on his face, he was guessing his comrades were wearing the same look from how Yukina and Keiko were heard snickering in the background.  
"And Kannia, for escaping Spirit Jail, you are charged with one hundred years' probation under the watch of Team Urameshi." He said his smirk turning into a smile.  
"What does that mean?" Kannia asked tilting her head to the side.  
Genkai chuckled as she took a drag of her cigarette. "That means you'll be stuck with one of these four dimwits here in the human world." She stated bluntly.  
"Sooo I'm not going back to Jail." She asked a smile playing across her lips.  
"That is correct." Koenma said looking at Kannia.  
Kurama was still in a state of shock as he looked over at his sister and sighed. "Well, I guess that solves one problem."  
"I'm not taking her again." Hiei snapped glaring between the three men around him. "I've had to deal with her constant questions for four months, it took me leaving her in the middle of the woods for a week to get her to be quiet."  
"I'm heading off to college so I can't take her, besides I know nothing about teenagers." Kuwabara stated.  
"I am as well…" Kurama said then his gaze turned to Yusuke.  
Kurama had never seen such horror cross his face at the task of taking care of a teenage girl, if it weren't such a serious topic Kurama would have laughed.  
"My mother is just now sobering up and it's suffocating me, how am I supposed to baby sit as well as balance business." Yusuke said looking at his friends.  
"I'll help." Keiko said stepping over to stand next to Yusuke.  
"And I will as well on weekends, it would just be a hindrance to try and explain to my mother who she is." Kurama admitted.  
"I can pitch in on days you have to work…" Shizuru said sitting on the edge of the deck. "I did raise Kazuma by myself after all."  
"Sounds promising." Yusuke said dully.  
"Please, Yusuke." Kurama said looking at his best friend. It was then that the spirit detective groaned.  
"Fine… But you better come on the weekends or I'll hunt down your ass." Yusuke said pointing at Kurama.  
"I promise." Kurama said smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes: Kannia is a reoccurring O.C. BUT! SHE IS NOT GOING TO BE PAIRED WITH ANY OF THE ORIGNIAL CHARACTERS ROMANTICALLY! SHE IS JUST ALONG FOR THE RIDE AT THIS POINT IN TIME, HER LOVE INTREST WILL BE REVIELED IN BOOK 5. AND THIS IS STILL BOOK 1, BE PATIENT.**

**~Now on the show~**

Climbing up the stairs of the bus that would take him home, Yusuke surveyed the bus for a seat that would keep the Kannia out of trouble. He started to make his way towards the back of the bus with Kannia on his heels; the seats in the back row were vacant so it would be the perfect place for them to sit. "You slide in first, if you start for feel fidgety let me know and we can get off and walk for a while." Yusuke said as the silver haired girl sat down on the seat and slipped up to the window. Around the top of her head was a black scarf to hide her fox ears from the human world.  
Yusuke sat down leaving a bit of space between him and the girl as he started to think back on the past few days. After Kurama and Kuwabara left for college, Yusuke had spent a few days helping Genkai clean up the temple as well as trying to get something out of his latest charge. She hadn't talked much, a few words here and there, and from what he had seen, she hadn't been sleeping for more than five minutes at a time. Glancing over at her out of the corner of his eye he saw her staring out at the passing cars and scenery, in a way he saw Kurama in her, but he couldn't help but think there was something missing.

**~!~**

They had ridden the bus for an hour and a half before Yusuke stood up getting off with Kannia, they were still a good mile and a half from his apartment, but Yusuke wasn't one to sit still for too long unless he was sleeping. After walking for a few minutes he saw that Kannia looked a bit confused by their surroundings.  
"What's on your mind squirt?" Yusuke said poking the side of her head lightly. She blinked a few times before looking up at him.  
"Squirt?" she asked.  
"Yea, you. What are you thinking about?" he asked slipping his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. Kannia seemed perplexed by the nickname, but she responded after a few moments.  
"Why are there no fireflies?" she asked looking around as they walked.  
"Fireflies don't survive well in the city."  
"I see…" she said slowly before looking up at the sky. "Does a 'city' also kill the stars?"  
"No, it's just hard to see them here." Yusuke said as he saw the apartment in sight. Glancing up the a few flights he saw the lights were on, signaling that his mother was going to be home as well. He knew it was going to be hard to explain who Kannia was and why she was staying with him. Letting a sigh out he made his way towards the stairs that led up to the apartment.

Yusuke walked through the door and found his mother sitting in the living room a cigarette in hand.  
It wasn't long before the Spirit Detective found himself in an embrace by her. "I'm so happy you're home." She said before holding Yusuke at arm's length as if inspecting him.  
"Jeeze Mom, I was only gone for two weeks, and I even told you where I was." He said with an exhausted sigh.  
"Hey, isn't a mother allowed to worry about her son!" she said after finding he wasn't hurt and that he was real. He knew after he came back from the dead, his mother had feared that he was an alcohol induced dream.  
"Yea, but most Mother's don't freak out every time their eighteen year old son goes off for a few weeks." He stated. It was then that Yusuke noticed his mother looking over his shoulder at the doorway, turning he saw that his mother was staring at Kannia. "Oh yea, this is Kannia… I picked up a babysitting job to help bring in some extra money."  
Kannia timidly entered the apartment her gaze shifting between Yusuke and his mother. Yusuke turned to look at his mother who looked stunned that he had brought home a teenage girl.  
"Hello Kannia. I'm Atsuko Urameshi… nice to meet you." She said taking a step closer holding her hand out to her. Kannia gave one last glance to Yusuke before she took the woman's hand and shook it.  
"N-Nice to meet you." The teen said quietly.  
"Yusuke where did you find her… she's in bad shape," His mother said stepping closer to Kannia looking at the girl's hair. In honesty Yusuke had noticed it, the girl had silver hair down to the back of her knees and it was in a permanent knot, her clothes were dirty.  
"She … uh… She is from one of those troubled teens shelters. One of my regulars asked if I wanted to be a 'Big Brother,' so I agreed." Yusuke lied.  
"Come with me Kannia… let's fix your hair first." The older woman said as she started to lead Kannia towards the kitchen. The girl looked back at Yusuke confused and he nodded silently telling her that it would be all right. The spirit detective smiled to himself as the two women disappeared into the kitchen. _That went better than expected, _he thought. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm going to check inventory on the cart." He called before leaving the apartment. 

**~!~**

Yusuke had returned to the apartment after taking full inventory of his cart and making a shopping list of what he would need before business hours. The state of the apartment had been a bit chaotic. Kannia had been sitting in the middle of the kitchen with his mother behind her, cutting her hair. After that was finished Yusuke had started to clean the kitchen while his mother showed Kannia how to use the shower. The hurricane that his mother was at this point was almost entertaining to watch, she was running around the apartment looking for a box of her old clothes so Kannia would have something to wear other than the 'rags' as his mother had called them.

It wasn't until eleven o'clock that Yusuke went to go check on his mother and Kannia. After stepping into his mother's room he found the woman passed out a smile on her face. Pulling the blankets over the woman he turned to leave from the room in search for the demon. He found her sitting in the spare bedroom staring out the window up at the moon. She was sitting next to the bed, her silver hair braided with a pink ribbon tied in it. She was dressed in a pair of hot pink pajamas that were decorated with rabbits. Her ears twitched signaling she had heard his arrival.  
"Hey look you survived." He said with a chuckle as he went to stand next to her, looking down at her he noticed that she was fighting off sleep staring up at the moon. A faint smirk crossed his lips as he sat down on the floor next to her. "What's on your mind?"  
"It's…. Weird." She muttered.  
"What is?"  
"No one is trying to kill each other…" she said looking down from the moon and to the Spirit Detective.  
"That's how humans are, well most of them." He muttered.  
Taking the braid of hair into her hand she looked at the ends of it. "That woman… she doesn't even know me… but she treated me nicely."  
"Yea, my mom's like that." He said. "But she's asleep right now, why don't you get some rest?"  
"It's not safe…" she muttered.  
"Yea it is." Yusuke stated earning a confused look from the girl. He turned to look up at the moon once more before speaking. "We aren't in the demon world… no one will come anywhere near this area. It's my territory, so I'll keep you safe."  
"R-Really?" she asked quietly.  
"I promise." He said turning to look at her; he chuckled to himself as he saw that she had already fallen asleep, her upper body being the only part of her that was on the bed. Standing up he reached over spreading the blanket over her body. "G'Night Squirt." He said quietly before he walked out of the room closing the door behind him.  
Instead of going to his own room to sleep, Yusuke's bad habits started to kick in once more. Slipping on his coat he left the apartment starting to walk around the block.

**~!~**

It had been a few days before Kannia woke up from her sleep; from how she looked when she woke up she needed it. The bags under her eyes had vanished and she looked to be in a better mood. Yusuke decided that he would take her with him for the day and give his mother a break. His only real errand was to stop at the store and pick up ingredients for the cart. Walking into the grocery store he grabbed a basket continuing on to the produce section. Kannia was walking next to him her hair was still tied in to a braid with a hot pink bandanna to hide her ears; she was wearing a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt.  
Crossing the aisle to the vegetables he started to browse the fresh produce. Kannia walked to stand a few items down from him staring at the food.  
"So… Humans come here to gather food?" she asked looking at all the vegetation.  
"Yep. They pick up what they need and then proceed to checkout to pay for the goods." Yusuke explained grabbing a few onions.  
"And you pay with money." She said as if recalling an earlier conversation.  
"Correct." Yusuke stated as he started to move down the row. Kannia quickly moved to keep up with him, she paused for a moment her attention focused on something before she wandered a little ways away. Yusuke paused and started to follow her wondering what she was up to. When he approached Kannia, she had been picking something up off the ground.  
"What is this?" she asked holding up the silver coin.  
"That is money… good eye." He said smiling as he looked at the coin closely. "It's a five hundred yen coin, so you should be able to get a can of soda and a candy bar with that."  
"Huh?" she asked tilting her head to the side.  
Yusuke laughed. "I'll show ya." He said before leading her on to finish their grocery shopping.

After the shopping was finished Yusuke led Kannia to the park with his noodle cart. It wasn't long after their arrival that Yusuke had started letting the food in the pots warm up to be served during the lunch hour. Kannia was sitting on the edge of a planter box her hair hanging over her shoulder as she looked down at the coin that she had found, twisting and tilting it watching the sunlight bounce off of it. Yusuke soon joined her on the ledge holding up two items he had bought. "One can of Coke and a chocolate bar." He stated before Kannia took them from him. Yusuke had pulled out a can of Coke for himself as he looked over at her smirking at the confused look on her face. "Watch." He stated simply as he took his own can of soda and popped the top open, taking a sip he looked at her.  
Fascinated by the act Kannia looked down at her own can and attempted to do it, it took her a minute to get it and once she did she squeaked as a small portion of the carbonated liquid shot back at her. It wasn't enough for them to need a rag, but it was still funny to watch the girl get scared by a can of soda.  
"Don't worry… the candy bar won't bite back like the soda." He laughed taking her candy bar and opening it for her. She took it from him looking at the pattern that had been melted into the confection; setting the can of soda down on the ledge next to her she took a bite of the chocolate. A smile soon danced across her lips. "It's good." She said before taking another bite.  
"Knew you'd like it." He said opening his own candy bar and taking a bite. It was then that Kannia had tried to take a drink of the soda, she crinkled her nose.  
"It's bubbling on my tongue." She said with a giggle.  
Yusuke grinned resting his hand on her head; he chalked it up to being a good day. She was starting to open up little by little. But he got her to laugh, even if it was a little bit. "That's the carbonation, Squirt. You'll get used to it." He said standing up to tend to a customer.

**~!~**

It has been a six months since Yusuke brought Kannia to his apartment. They were walking home from a long day of work the sun slowly setting behind the buildings giving them enough light to walk home. Yusuke smiled as the girl spoke.  
"I can't believe that guy earlier accused you of dropping his ramen on purpose." She said laughing.  
"Even though I did, it's not like he could have proven it." Yusuke grinned.  
"It was funny watching him stand there like a dying lizard when you convinced him it was his fault." She said smiling, reaching up she pushed her long silver hair behind her shoulders, she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a beanie on instead of the bandanna.  
"He had been acting like a real ass the last few days, so it was time for some payback. Bonus was convincing him he had to pay for the second bowl." Yusuke laughed as he pushed the cart into the store room of the apartment complex and locking the door behind him. At the start he didn't know how he was going to take to Kannia… But once he really got her going, she was nothing compared to Kurama. She was a bundle of energy, she was easily distracted by anything shiny… but she was good kid and she had grown on him. And his mother, it had taken Kannia a few weeks to fully open up to her, but after three months she was calling her 'Mom' and it made Atsuko happy. Kannia had been the daughter his mother had always wanted.  
"So what should we eat for dinner?" he asked as they climbed the stairs to the apartment.  
"I dunno… Everything I've eaten in the human world so far has been good." She said as they reached the floor the apartment was on. Yusuke shook his head.  
"Then we shall figure it out." He said opening the door and paused seeing the dining room table lined with food. It was an odd sight to see, he stepped inside letting Kannia in before closing the door and slipping out of his shoes. His mother was in the kitchen bringing out one last dish to set on the table.  
"Welcome home!" she said smiling as she placed the bowl of rice down on the table. Yusuke had seen weird in his life time, but this was taking the cake. His mother had been acting odd for the last year, and now this.  
"Thanks… what's the occasion?" he asked as he walked towards the table.  
"Well I thought we would celebrate you're business. I mean up until now you haven't been able to hold down a steady job." She explained.  
"Looks great, Mom!" Kannia said smiling as she looked down at the table.  
"Yea." Yusuke said as he started to sit down with Kannia. "Thanks."

Yusuke sat at the table with his mother while Kannia was washing the dishes. The sun had fully disappeared from the sky and the lights were on in the living room and the kitchen. His mother had a cigarette in hand and a glass of wine in front of her, she seemed lost in thought staring down at the red liquid. Yusuke looked down at his beer trying to think of what to say.

"So how goes the business?" the older woman spoke looking up from her wine.  
Yusuke blinked looking at his mother. "Fine, how is work?"  
"Good." She said before taking a drag of her cigarette. Yusuke looked at his mother, it was then that he started to notice how dark the bags under her eyes were getting. She seemed to slouch a bit more in her seat as she stared down at the ash tray.  
"How's Kannia been behaving?" she asked.  
"Great… she's acting almost like a normal human girl." He said swishing around his beer. The mood of the conversation seemed to be dragging down the mood left over from dinner. It set something off in Yusuke's head. "You okay, Mom?" Yusuke muttered looking at her.  
"Of course." She said smiling. "I've just been putting in some overtime at work." She seemed fine, but Yusuke didn't let his guard down.  
"Course…" Yusuke said smiling to reassure his mother that he did believe her. Soon Kannia walked out of the kitchen a wet towel wrapped around her hands. "All done, Squirt?"  
"Yep… I'm gonna go shower and then head to bed." She said reaching up to remove her hat her ears flicking. "Is there anything else I need to do?"  
"Nope. You're good." He said smiling.

**~!~**

It had been one of the few nights that Yusuke had slept. His mother and him had stayed up late talking about nothing. Rolling over in bed he started to wake up. Opening his eyes he jumped seeing Kannia sitting on the floor in his room her ears drooped low.  
"Squirt…" he said quietly as he started to sit up. "What's wrong?"  
"It smells bad." She muttered.  
"Wha-?" he asked as his mind started to wake up, as his senses caught up with his mind he could smell what she was. His eyes narrowed as he stood up, glancing at Kannia he saw that she was already dressed. "How long you been up?"  
"Four hours or so." She said looking up at him.  
Yusuke walked out of his room and into the hall the smell getting stronger the further down the hall he got. He stopped outside a closed door his hands starting to shake a bit. "Kannia… go to Genkai's, now."  
Kannia peaked out of the room at him and nodded before grabbing her hat and hurrying out the front door.

_This can't be happening… She had turned her life around god damn it! _The spirit detective thought as he pushed the door open to his mother's bed room. The stench of death was soaked into the room. He scanned the room looking for any other source for the smell. His eyes landed on the bed, urging him to step closer. Soon standing at the edge of the bed he could see the older woman laying as if she were asleep, a smile on her face. Touching her shoulder carefully he tensed, her body was ice cold. Letting his hand slip off her body he tried to think of how this had happened. Turning to the nightstand he pulled open the drawer, in his mind he was secretly hoping find something to blame. What he found was a stash of medical letters and bills. "Mom… what did you do?" he muttered as he started flipping through the papers.

An hour had passed and Yusuke was sitting next to the bed the letters spread out around him. In his hand was a cigarette. "Heh, sobered up and straightened out, and in the end… the alcohol still killed you." He said his voice barely a whisper. After reading every letter from the doctor he had learned that his mother's liver had been failing for the last year. "Wish you would have told me…" he said letting his head rest against the bed where his mother's body was.

**~!~**

_Why does it feel like I'm walking through quicksand…_ Kannia thought as she made her way up the stairs to Genkai's temple. There had been times when Yusuke told her to do things in the same voice he used this morning; it meant he was not in a good mood to argue about the subject. Finally reaching the top step she blinked seeing Genkai standing there looking puzzled.  
"Where's the dimwit?" she asked walking towards Kannia.  
"He's at the apartment still…" she responded as she sat down on the stairs staring back at the way she came. As she tried to think of the morning that passed, she couldn't think straight. Only about last night, and every night after she and Yusuke got home when they spent time with Mom. Pulling her hat off she rubbed her ears.  
"Why?" Genkai asked now standing next to Kannia looking down the stairs with her.  
"Mom's room smelt like death…" she said wondering why her voice cracked as she said it.

Genkai stared down at the young demon as she stated why Yusuke hadn't accompanied her on the bus to the temple. Digging into her robes she pulled out a cigarette and put it between her lips. "He'll be here soon… Don't worry." Genkai said after lighting the cigarette, resting her hand on Kannia's head.  
"Kay…" she the girl muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

Yusuke slowly walked up the stairs to the temple, he had just gotten off the bus after speaking with the hospital about the arrangements for the some of the funeral. After a short call to Kurama asking him to come and help with Kannia. He wasn't torn up about his mother passing, he was pissed that she didn't tell him she was sick. Lighting a cigarette the Spirit Detective reached the top of the stairs to meet the gaze of Genkai.  
It took the male a few moments to speak. "Hey…" he muttered.  
"How are you doing?" Genkai said before taking a drag of her own cigarette.  
"Pissed… but better than this morning." He said walking towards the temple Genkai falling in step next to him. "Did Kannia make it?"  
"Yes, she arrived early this afternoon. She isn't herself though."  
"I noticed that this morning." Yusuke muttered. "Over the last few months she's been developing more and more human emotions. I don't think she can process them or identify them as easily as Kurama or Hiei did."  
"Understandable… but you still haven't answered my question, Dimwit." Genkai said stopping before they reached the deck.  
"I'm fine, I mean." He paused trying to gather his thoughts and his own emotions. "I don't feel horrible, but that's because I've known her in her bad times… Kannia's only seen the good." He said taking a drag of his cigarette.  
"Did you call anyone?" Genkai asked as she started to walk once more.  
"I called Kurama, he'll be here in the morning to help with Kannia and planning the funeral." Yusuke said walking into the main room. He paused seeing Kannia staring at a can of pop her head resting on the table.  
"As I said… she's not her usual self." Genkai muttered sitting down outside the door.

"Hey Squirt, you okay?" Yusuke said walking over opening the can of pop for her.  
It seemed to pull the demon teen back to the real world. Sitting up she looked up at Yusuke. "I don't know…" she muttered. "It feels like I'm sitting in a fish bowl…" Her ears were still drooped and he sighed sitting down next to her.  
"That's grief…" He said wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "It will go away soon… Kurama's coming tomorrow… he'll be able to explain it better than me."  
Kannia nodded resting her head on Yusuke's shoulder.

**~!~**

The funeral was coming to an end as Kurama stood in the back of the garden. The fox demon had made the small alcove for the occasion. The burial had been completed and friends of Yusuke's mother had already taken their leave after giving their respects to Yusuke and wished him well. As Kurama's gaze fell upon his friend, he saw that the detective was only being held together by a few threads of control. Keiko had arrived the previous night to try and help set up, but had been crying all morning, her tears worsening while Shizuru delivered the eulogy. Kuwabara seemed to be holding back tears, but the man's face was red and his eyes swollen with unshed tears. Kannia had been in the back of the garden with him, quietly crying unable to hold back the tears any more.

Kurama soon made his way towards Yusuke who was standing staring at the now buried gravesite. Looking up at his face he saw the dark bags under his eyes, his jaw set as if he were grinding his teeth.

"You haven't spoken much since my arrival." Kurama muttered standing with his hands in his pockets. "What is on your mind?"  
Yusuke was silent for a few moments. "Why she didn't tell me…"  
"There's nothing you could have done…" Kurama explained.  
"Still, she didn't have to fucking do it alone." He snapped running his hand through his hair. "She just carried on like there was nothing wrong. On days off she would take Kannia shopping, hell she even baked. Why pretend nothing is wrong and lie to your own son!"  
"Because she didn't want you to be like this… Angry at nothing. Illness is not something we can control..." Kurama stated. "You and I were only lucky the first time."  
The comment seemed to sober the detective up for a minute. "I had almost forgotten that…" he muttered. "How we met…"  
"Don't tear yourself up over this… She lived life to her fullest, and she died sober like she wished." Kurama said resting his hand on Yusuke's shoulder giving it a small squeeze.  
"Yea…" Yusuke said finally looking up from the grave and to the sky.  
"Come. Genkai has probably rounded the others up to the temple by now…" Kurama said as he started to turn to walk through the garden back to the temple.  
"I'll be a minute… go ahead." Yusuke sighed.  
"Alright. Don't be to long." Kurama stated.

**~!~**

Genkai had set the main room up for the young adults to sit and relax after the funeral beer and snacks laid out, along with a few boxes of Kleenex. Keiko's cries had slowed to allow her to have a conversation with Shizuru and Yukina at one end of the table. To Yukina's left, Kuwabara no longer looked like he was going to start bawling any second and was drinking a beer. Kannia was sitting out on the grass below the deck that Genkai was perched on. The sun had started to set allowing the fireflies to drift out of the woods. The luminescent insects hung low in the ground around the demon and cast off a dim blue hue. Looking up Genkai saw Kurama walking through the path that lead to the grave, not to far behind him Yusuke followed.

After the boys stopped inside Yusuke sat on the deck next to Genkai, a cigarette between his lips. The elder woman looked at him, he seemed to be in a better mood than he had been in the last five days.  
"You look better." She stated taking a drink of her beer.  
"Feel a bit better." He stated as he lit the paper stick. "Just not quite looking forward to the bus ride home."  
"Why is that?" Genkai asked.  
"A two hour bus ride to an empty apartment," He said leaning against one of the beams that held up the roof.  
"Then why go back?"  
"Huh?"  
"You know that all of you are welcome here any time you want." The old woman stated taking a large drink of her beer.  
Yusuke was a bit dumbfounded. "Are you suggesting Kannia and I move in here?" he said the cigarette now held between his fingers.  
"No I'm suggesting the two of you go live in a box on the side of the road. Of course I am, Dimwit. While you work on your cart I can put Kannia to work around here, give you a break from having to watch her all the time." She stated looking at him.

Yusuke didn't know what to say to his mentor. He would love to live out at the temple, he knew Kannia would enjoy being out in the woods over stuck in the middle of the city any day. "I think we'll take you up on that offer…. We just need to get the affairs in order first…" he said a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Thanks…"  
"Don't worry about it…" She said with a smile setting her beer aside to light her own cigarette.

**~!~**

Four months have passed since the funeral, Yusuke had taken only two weeks to get things in order with the old apartment and moving the important item's to Genkai's temple. Yusuke's noodle cart was getting better business in the small town versus the big city. Genkai had started to homeschool Kannia so she had a basic education; she had also put the young demon to work in cleaning the temple on a weekly basis. Yusuke had stayed pretty quiet over the last four months, still not quite settled over the death of his mother.

Keiko sat in the main room with Yukina, she had come by every weekend to check in with her best friend to make sure he was truly okay. Yusuke would be coming home from the noodle cart soon. Taking a sip of tea Keiko sighed.  
"I just don't know how to snap him out of it…" Keiko muttered looking down at the lightly colored liquid. "He's never really been in a slump like this before."  
"It is quite odd… I mean Kuwabara was able to get back to his studies in only a few days…" Yukina said looking at Keiko. "I think Yusuke is channeling to much of his demon side, he hasn't played with Kannia much either since they arrived here."  
Keiko bit her lip trying to formulate a plan for this weekend. Soon the answer to her problem walked across the deck.  
"Hello ladies." Kurama said with a smile. "Yusuke not back yet?" he said setting his backpack down on the floor near the door.  
"No not yet." Yukina said standing up. "Do you want some tea?"  
"Yes please, thank you." Kurama said sitting down at the table. "Kannia off doing chores?"  
"Yep, she's cleaning the shrine room right now." Yukina said bringing out another cup.  
"How is school going?" Keiko asked Kurama.  
"I'm at the top of my classes and just finished my mid-terms." Kurama said smiling.  
"That's great! I'm at the top of some of my classes, our mid-terms are next week." Keiko replied.  
"That's good, what brings you around these parts so close to mid-terms?"  
"Yusuke." Keiko sighed.  
"What's wrong?" he asked a bit of concern slipping into his voice.  
"He's not quite back to normal." Keiko said running her finger around the rim of her cup. "Which brings me to my next question."  
"And that would be…?"  
"Could you talk to him?" Keiko asked smiling.  
"About what?" Kurama asked a bit baffled.  
"What about what?" Yusuke chimed in as he walked through the door. "Hey Keiko."  
"How was work?" Keiko said smiling, leaving Kurama sitting there like a fish out of water.  
"Good… where's the Squirt?"  
"Cleaning," Yukina said passing Yusuke a cup of coffee.  
Keiko smiled at Yusuke only to glance at the frustrated looking Kurama who was looking at her over his tea. She knew she would need to elaborate later, but for now they would act like nothing was wrong.

**~!~**

As night fell the fireflies began to gather around the temple, Kurama smiled seeing the insects. It was now the norm for the area. The insects still hung a bit low in the air with a light blue color to them. Looking across the deck he saw Kannia perched in a window her hand held out for several fireflies to perch on. Yusuke was sitting on the deck having a cigarette while Genkai sat in the main room watching the news with Yukina. Keiko had left not long after dinner, her excuse was that she needed to study. The other was to avoid the fox after she told him what her plan was. Kurama didn't mind the plan… but it was executing it that would be the true issue.  
Kurama sighed as he sat down next to Yusuke a beer in hand. "You're freaking out Keiko."  
"How so?" Yusuke said.  
"You're locking your emotions away… aren't you?" Kurama said looking at the male. The question had made the detective pause. Kurama started to stand up. "Let's take a walk…" Kurama said his hands slipping into his pockets. Yusuke had hesitated but soon followed the fox into the woods. Kurama could sense Hiei as he started to make his way towards the two. Kurama shook his head slightly as he kept walking. Soon the fire apparition's aura backed off a little giving the two of them some space. 

Once the two reached the ocean shore he stared out at the stars and moon. It was a good mile from the temple… but still part of Genkai's property. Turning to look at Yusuke, Kurama sighed. "It's not healthy for you to lock your emotions away like this."  
"It's better than being pissed at the situation." Yusuke said kicking the sand.  
"I understand that the pain of your mother passing was hard on you, but it was hard on everyone." Kurama said staring at the water. "It effects everyone around you as well." He said holding his hand out for a lone firefly that had followed the two out to the water. "Hiei and I may have perfected the mask that we wear to hide out emotions, but it's a survival stand point for us, and as you have noticed over the years they have begun to crumble… to allow us to live in the human world. Humans need the outlet, even you Yusuke…"  
Yusuke was silent for a while staring at the water. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.  
"In a way yes… Even Kannia's mood is off. She is tuned to you now, just like Puu. Your demon shell puts you in a depression, where Hiei's irritable… and I'm just cold." Kurama explained. "It's better that you are human, the longer that you stay in your demon shell the more and more you will fall into the habits. And after the research we did years ago... I don't think you would like to wind up like Raizen."  
"Not what I was goin' for in the long run… but I see you're point." He said stuffing his hands into his pockets.  
Kurama grinned. "So we don't need to continue this?"  
"Yea…" Yusuke said with a smirk. "Keiko put you up to this didn't she?"  
"No comment." Kurama stated.

**~!~**

Kurama lead the walk back towards the temple, the night was quite. They were only a few yards from the beach where they had finished their talk when Yusuke started to speak once more.  
"Damn it," he cursed. Kurama turned around to look at his friend and paused, seeing tears rolling down the young man's face. Kurama's features softened as he let his hands slip out of his coat pockets.  
"Why the hell am I crying…" the detective said to himself as he wiped the tears away.

Yusuke had come to terms with his mother passing, but Kurama was right at the beginning. It wasn't something he could have controlled but he was still angry. But as the tears rolled down his face, his mind flooded back to the memories of him and his mother when he was growing up. It hadn't been a perfect life, and he had given her so much hell, but it was perfect in their mind. Pushing his fingers through his hair and leaving them in place holding the sides of his head. The memories of the past year with Kannia flipping through his head, his mother had been so happy. They had reinvented their family, it was better than perfect, hell it would have given him one hell of a cavity if he hadn't been part of it. The steady stream of tears down his face turned into a waterfall as his mind started to crumble from the exhaustion. Dropping to his knees his anger flipping to anguish of the unspent time that could have been there if he hadn't been so hard on his mother, if he hadn't been caught up in work and avoiding her every chance he had when he was a teenager. His mind flushed out Kurama calling his name and soon his own screams were drowned out by the memories.

Kurama's eyes were wide as he saw the young man kneeling on the dirt before him. He couldn't pull Yusuke out of the grief that he was feeling. Kurama had been pushed into tight places before from situations, but none that involved Yusuke. Moving closer Kurama knelt in front the sobbing spirit detective and wrapped his arms around the male. He couldn't stand seeing Yusuke in pain, especially when he could do nothing to relieve it. "It all passes… it just takes time for it to heal…" he muttered to himself as he ran his hand over Yusuke's head smoothing out the hair that had been pushed out of place. "Grief is just one of those Human emotions that make us all stronger.."

**~!~**

Hiei was perched in a tree, his Jagan eye glowing. A heavy sigh passed through the apparition's lips as he closed his own eyes leaning against the trunk of the tree. He had stayed behind at Kurama's request, and at this moment he was happy that he did. The third eye slowly closed, taking the focus off of the demon's only two friends. Hiei was not one to offer comfort… in all his years he hadn't developed the soft spot that Kurama had when lingering with humans. Opening his eyes they narrowed as he noticed the fireflies that floated lazily in the main courtyard were now starting to become more concentrated around him. Glancing down towards the ground his eyes soon fell on a patch of silver hair wandering through the woods. Rolling his eyes he disappeared from the limb and appeared behind the demon girl.  
"Kannia." He stated glaring at her. The young kit squeaked turning to face Hiei the fireflies following her gaze lighting up the area around them. "What are you doing out here?" Hiei asked.  
"I um… was trying to sneak up on you…" she said slowly.  
"Why?"  
"I haven't seen you in a while… and I wanted to say 'hi' without you running off…" she said looking towards the ground. Hiei blinked at the girl. He didn't know how to react to her questions or statements, it was why he tended to avoid her after the four month long walk they had had in the beginning. Hiei let a annoyed sigh out before turning his blank stare to Kannia.  
"Hi." He replied. The demon girl smiled a bit.  
"Hi… um, do you know where my brothers are?" she asked.  
"Do you need them for something?" Hiei asked raising a brow.  
"N-Not really, I'm just a bit lonely… Yukina and Genkai have already gone to bed." She explained.  
"Yusuke and Kurama are a bit busy right now." Hiei stated. "Why don't you head back to the temple."  
"Okay.." Kannia said biting her lip as she began to walk the way she came. Hiei watched her for a few minutes before kicking himself mentally for what he was about to do. He started to walk back towards the temple with her, but remained silent. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the small smile that had formed on the kit's face.  
"Mention this to anyone and I will cut out your tongue." He stated.  
"Gottcha." Kannia said slipping her hands into her pockets, the fireflies started to zip around the are turning a light green color.

**Author's Notes : Since I was a bit late in posting Chapter 2, as well as it being small, well here is Chapter 3 to apologize! I've also been gifted with some extra days off from work so I'm hoping to wrap up Book 1 here. Yes it's a short book, but it was only to introduce the OC as well as tie up some loose ends before Book 2 started to get produced. Estimated chapters for that book is currently at 15! I hope you enjoyed these chapters so far and stick around with us!**


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